howlingmoonrise | Dear Yuletide Writer (2022) (Reply)

Hi and welcome to my long rambling letter!

I hope you have a lot of fun participating this year, and the below is meant to help you with that! As usual, the only things that are hard lines are the squicks listed on the Yuletide form, but I'd prefer if you respected my other dislikes/squicks as well, even if our likes don't match and you chose not to use any of these prompts! Feel free to mix and match what you like ;)

This year I tried to place things mostly under bullet points in an effort to cut down on my rambling but, uh, I don't think I succeeded. I'd rather you have plenty to choose from and a good grasp on my likes/dislikes if you don't have an idea in mind already, than you wanting ideas and not finding any you like, though!!

I hope you have an excellent time!

GENERAL LIKES:

Truly egregious amounts of pining! Truly egregious amounts of increasingly obvious denial!
Non-established relationships - what I love most is the progression of the dynamics between two characters!
Fake dating! This applies to all the fandoms, it's one of my favourite tropes if you want to give it a whirl. Same for time loop fics;
Despite the first three items above, either gen or romance is fine! What really does it for me is the dynamics between the characters, and how they find unprecedented levels of kinship and trust and intimacy and comfort and understanding with each other, not necessarily romantic acts. In fact, I don't particularly like huge romantic acts either, and would love a more subtle sort of thing if you're going down the romance road!
Bickering/banter is great! Doubly so if the characters are a bit petty!
Sticking to the tone of the original characterizations/canon/humour is definitely a plus! (though I definitely won't hold you to it when it comes to the Prose Edda, oof.) I love when ways of speaking and running gags and references to the original material show up!
Timestamp fics/missing scenes and "what-if" canon divergent situations are excellent and probably my favourite kind of fic, as well as continuations from canon! More details on this for each respective fandom on their sections below;
Casual intimacy! CASUAL INTIMACY! I'm a sucker for this and it's super fun, especially if placed amidst the bickering - it throws a whole different depth to their interactions and really shows how comfortable the characters are with each other. DOUBLY so if they have some enmity going on at that point since that makes it downright hilarious with the other half not really knowing how to react. A pair that communicates without needing to use words is also so intimate and great! I love this kind of thing;
Trope subversion all the way!!!
Usually smooth characters going tongue-tied when faced with the possibility of feelings or the presence of their crush;
Characters getting roped into shenanigans, the wilder the better. Double points if they have no clue how they got themselves into this and are very much bewildered at how the situation went this sideways;
Not really applicable to Recess, but otherwise: enemies/rivals-to-reluctant-allies-(to-maybe-friends?)-to-lovers, I'm a slut for that kind of development!
Idiots to lovers. Idiots to lovers. It's really, really important and hilarious to me that they're huge dumbasses about it if your gift isn't the serious poetical prose sort, even if the "to lovers" part doesn't get all the way there.

GENERAL DISLIKES:

I really cannot overstate how much I don't want to see pregnancy or motherhood related stuff, mpreg and babies/toddlers included. Kidfics, babyfics, next gen fics, I could go on;
Unhappy endings (ambiguous or hopeful endings are more than okay!);
On the completely opposite direction, the stereotypical 2.5 kids white picket fence sort of happy ending;
Playing around with gender when it comes to characters that aren't canonically prone to it, and even for those nothing permanent;
Most hard AUs (further detailed under each fandom) but you can assume stuff like merpeople AU or high fantasy AUs are a pass from me, they rely too much on setting and often lose all which makes the setting and the characters... them;
No going into the hows and whys of a character's sexuality or gender or huge discussions of it - if they're bi/ace/etc, then they're bi/ace/etc and that's that, going into the backstory of it and other people's reactions is a no from me. I would prefer if there were no depictions of homophobia, sexism, racism, transphobia, etc, even from the mouths of villain/background antagonistic characters;
In general, unrequested, non-canon sexuality/gender/race/etc headcanons (unless it comes shapeshifters such as Loki, as specified further below);
Established relationships (marital status aside, as applicable to Loki and Sigyn). If you're more comfortable writing established, however, I'd prefer if it were more slice-of-life casual intimacy rather than outright declarations of love - something where the characters have clearly grown comfortable with each other and don't need that sort of thing because they know each other's care intimately, and just love to bask in each other's presence;
Huge time skips, unless you're writing for Recess (more on this on its specific section). Except for some specific situations it makes me feel as if I've missed way too much development, which is my favourite part when it comes to relationships;
Angst is.... *waggles hand*. I don't dislike angst, but it really depends on the sort and it can often be overdone. I'll give it a hard pass on stuff to do with major character death (unless canon or they get better), sexual abuse, self-harm, gender/sexuality angst, and the like. Other than that, feel free to go ahead (but definitely don't give it an unambiguously bad ending!);
Huge non-canon past trauma;
Cheating and infidelity are huge no-nos;
Sickfics, dysphoria, deep dives into mental illness and other disorders;
Script-based or roleplay fic is not really my preferred format, I really enjoy prose instead of nearly 100% dialogue!
Tons of gore, permanent disabilitating injury (it's fine if it's like... one leg or one eye getting fucked up, but more than that I'll pass), etc. I don't generally mind it, for these fandoms/characters in particular it's not really my scene;
Flashback/nightmare/dream sequences.

IF YOU'RE GOING FOR NSFW:

Kinks:

Moderate masochism (pain is nice but maiming or an actual beating not so much);
Bondage (especially predicament bondage or unconvencional bindings)
Breathplay, knifeplay (preferably no blood drawn during specifically this for these character sets), nails digging on skin;
Edging/desperation play;
Ladies topping and calling the shots!
Long silky hair;
Lowkey cannibalism imagery and hunger, biting;
If for Loki/Sigyn in particular, devoted cunnilingus for sure!

Squicks:

Scat, vomit, bed-wetting, farting, wound-fucking, castration, CBT (myth for Loki already went there so. pass in general);
Dehumanization, slavery, pet-play;
Mommy/daddy/baby kinks, age play, anything involving diapers, pregnancy kink, mpreg;
Praise kink (this one isn't exactly a hard line, I just think it's overdone and doesn't really do anything for me);
Alpha/Beta/Omega AU/dynamics;
Forced feminization;
Stuff very involved with body hair;
Outright vore and/or shrinking;
Super big breasts, super small breasts, lactation, microdicks;
Humiliation or degradation to do with any physical characteristics of a character;
Non-con betwen these characters or with others. Dub-con such as fuck-or-die or sex pollen is fine.

RUNEMARKS
--

Runemarks! Runemarks, my beloved. It's been so long, and I didn't read the Loki prequels/sequels/spinoffs because it'd been so long I needed a reread of the series to properly appreciate them, and I have no clue where I placed Runelight. (That being said, please do disregard Runelight while writing my request. I didn't entirely dislike it, but not only do I not remember it well, there also were some iffy things about it that didn't fit my tastes (crazy!possessive!Sigyn, Maggie/Adam, the Big Betrayal with no further resolution, lack of major Loki&Maddy interaction outside of that), and for me the essence of Runemarks lays, in fact, with the original book). You can of course add in details from the books I haven't read, I just won't recognize them.

What do I like? Loki! Maddy! Loki and Maddy! Not even necessarily romantically, but their dynamic is the thing that most grabbed me about the books and had me crazy about them. We love two unhinged, super tricky individuals who aren't used to others seeing through them and who end up terribly fond of each other because they're both so dishonest that when you put them together it flips all the way back into actual honesty. They SEE each other, your honour!!! Not as archetypes or what others expect of them, but as people!!! Plus, the banter. Can't forget about the banter.

What I would like to see/possible prompts:

Exploration of the dynamics between those two. I really can't say this enough. I don't care if it's gen or romantic or somewhere ambiguously in between (in fact, somewhere ambiguously in between is my favourite), but the ideal fic would dive into the relationship between these two and how similar yet different they are to each other.
Soft AUs/Canon-verse AUs: the Runemarks world placed slightly to the left - an added, unseen scene that might have happened in canon, or a world where some of the canon events didn't happen, or even the Runemarks world minus all the plot with a different meeting. Examples:
- Canon-verse Maddy running into "The Captain"/"Lucky" post-identity reveal in some other (potentially hilarious) situation where Loki is really really hoping he didn't piss Maddy off enough on their last meeting that she'll spill the beans, and her having the time of her life teasing him with double-meanings and puns about his identity to make him (deservedly) sweat a bit;
- Canon-verse (or not) Loki and Maddy falling simultaneously into the same troublesome scenario, shenanigans ensue;
- Soft AU where the canon plot didn't happen and Maddy may or may not have moved away from the village (the Order did not come for her, or they did and she got away, etc), and runs into Loki-as-Captain/Lucky, or under some other job he's lying low in (bartender, soldier down on his luck, charming thief, etc), and they get in and out of trouble together, as some fun alternate first meeting;
- Soft AU where the Order did come for Maddy, and Loki (who was in the surroundings and may or may not have had a snarky altercation with Maddy just before, where he felt Seen™) is begrudgingly roped into helping her escape them;
- Canon-verse or soft AU where Maddy and Loki are linked somehow (soulmates link, some supernatural/god bullshit, a curse/geas, etc) while pretty far apart and with no clue of what it means or possibly even who each other are (depending on whether or not they've met already, dealer's choice) and try to figure it out/find each other/get rid of it while growing close or empathetic to one another during it.
TONS of banter, if possible. That sardonic tone of canon is fantastic, and doubly so with underlying fondness;
If going down the romantic route, I do like things more subtle - no grand declarations of love, but that sense of comfort and belonging and understanding with each other that they don't get with anyone else. I would rather have pink ears and flustered feelings at a brushed touch or a more flirty-bantery remark rather than outright romantic kissing, but this is entirely up to you. Start at pre-relationship if possible, please! What I like is the journey there, and being already established tends to skip over all those parts;
That being said, I'm definitely not opposed to some sexual tension. I mean, *gestures vaguely towards their interactions* it's them;
Moral ambiguity! I think they should be gay-- er, bi, and do crime, or at least seriously annoy people. Especially Loki. I love that little bastard.

What I wouldn't like to see:

Please no more humiliation and pain for Loki - give him a break! It's fine if he gets in a sticky situation (who is even Loki if he's not in some sort of trouble lmfao), but he should be able to get out of it unscathed. (This applies to Maddy too, but a special emphasis on Loki for this);
No female form/dress jokes, it's one thing for him to assume that form or wear a dress (which is fine), it's another to make it the butt of the situation or make it sound as if it's humiliating;
That being said, I wouldn't like to see a fic fully focused on gender-flipped Loki, or one that went super into gender or sexuality dynamics. Treat it as commonplace if possible!
Most hard AUs (such as a merpeople AU, role reversal AU, etc) would also not be favourites, but something like a steampunk AU could work if the focus is more on the characters and the setting is merely the background;
Please no love triangles or unrequited love! (Unless it's Adam with a creepy crush on Maddy/Maggie getting what's coming to him, that is);
Established relationship is fairly meh to me, I don't really derive much enjoyment from it;
Maddy-as-Modi AUs. Which isn't really an AU, but I like Maddy as Maddy - an AU where she grew up as Modi, or a canon-verse continuation where she grows into that role isn't really my thing;
In that line, Loki-that-isn't-Loki. He can (and should!) be under disguise at some point, or under an alias, but even if there's no true reveal we should for sure know that it's him under there, and that person is a little redhead scar-lipped shit-stirrer;
No other ships involving these two! Past relationship mention is fine, though I'd pass on past Odin/Loki;
Would probably pass on heavy smut for this.

Other notes:

No need to follow the plotline of Runemarks, honestly. You can, but it's definitely not a requirement, especially considering how complex it becomes! For me what matters most is really the character dynamics, I don't really need the plot (or any plot), so don't stress about it unless it's your kind of thing. I wasn't super into the Order thing Runelight went so far into anyway, but if you want to take any pieces of plot from the book anyway I'd rather you focused on the god drama and interdynamics, which are hilarious to me;
If you do bring Sigyn in, make her OOC - which is something I never thought I'd say about any character, ever! I am actually fond of Sigyn in myth despite there being so little on her (if you do check on my other requests, you'll see I'm actually requesting her and Loki on Prose Edda/Ancient Norse Mythology and Religion). Be kinder to her than Joanne was! The crazy marriage-obsessed lady is a bit. Uh. Yeah, no.
Bringing in Angrbod, Skadi, Hel, Jormungandr, and other god-related characters is obviously beyond fine, but more fun if Maddy is chill with everyone. Relationships with Loki may vary - possibly going down the disbelieving-look-at-Maddy route when she's clearly more than cool with him around (and would actively oppose it if someone tried to slice his head off, Skadi!) - and this contrast can be the inciting incident for the fic! No matter the relationship the other characters hold with Loki, negative or positive, they all question Maddy's life choices nonetheless, which is a mood.

PROSE EDDA
--

There's SO LITTLE on Sigyn everywhere and yet. And yet. Despite her main mention in the Eddas being as the holder of the poison bowl and little else, you cannot imagine Loki would have a wife that 1) stuck with him, and 2) was devoted enough that she'd keep at the bowl thing towards infinity, without there being at least a little love, friendship, respect, and Sigyn for sure having a stronger sort of personality, regardless of the way it presents itself (cunning/sneaky/manipulative, shy yet stubborn as a mule, or super blunt, a troublemaker herself, etc), because no way in hell could anyone survive being married to Loki otherwise. Doubly so if they don't have at least a bit of personality in common.

HENCE. I would like an exploration of their relationship. How they met, or a moment where they realized there was that love/friendship/respect there, or a slice-of-life (as slice-of-life as you can get when Loki is involved, I guess) scene of their marriage - taking into consideration that marriage generally didn't begin with love in those days, but was more akin to a business negotiation between families - or even a series of shots on how their relationship develops.

I may possibly confuse events/characterization of the Prose and Poetic Eddas in the likes/dislikes below so please forgive me in advance.

What I would like to see/possible prompts:

Redhead beardless Loki, if it doesn't go against your preferences! Please just not a Marvel!Loki lookalike at least, it lowkey (heh) breaks my immersion to try and picture him that way;
Banter. Loki is Silvertongue, Liesmith, etc etc, and I cannot believe Sigyn would not give at least a little something back, and that she is also not at least a little (a lot!) cunning regarding words herself, having grown in Odin's court. Can start as a bit of an enmity/rivalry, depending on what you think the reasons for their marriage were, and develop into more friendly stuff. Progress!
A reason why Loki and Sigyn stuck together, how they came to be at least fond of each other;
How did the marriage come to be? Was it an ambiguous reward (or punishment) that neither of them wanted, did they know each other previously, did they stay out of each other's way at first or try to make it work? Was Loki frustrated at being tied down, initially? Did Sigyn have loftier, politically-inclined goals in mind, and hate that she was stuck with a wedding she hadn't planned for? Did she have someone else she wanted to marry (for political or romantic reasons), and this whole Loki business ruined it for her? Where does it go from here?
If they met before the whole marriage thing, how long ago was that? The fic could be a short sweet piece of them growing up as childhood/teenhood friends and getting into trouble together, and already having some fondness for each other far before marriages and alliances and suchlike ever came into play;
Divine retribution! Loki is not always the most well-treated god in the Eddas (though he's not the most well-behaved or kindest, either) and on some occasions (not always) it's pretty undeserved. A wife who holds some neutral-to-positive relationship with him would not stand for it (for either her own sake and reputation as his wife, or his), especially if she has a cunning or proud personality, and grew up as a child of Odin, who is also a trickster. A prompt could be Sigyn getting even with other gods for events in which Loki came out a little singed, or getting him out of them in the first place (this last one is preferrable since it spares him some pain - but if the situation is mostly harmless then either is cool!). This could even be the inciting factor that changes their relationship from enemies/frenemies/rivals/indifference to positive, since it would show off Sigyn in some interesting way and not have her just be some random placeholder lady Loki was roped into marrying, and whom he might not have been interested in getting to know so far (and vice-versa);
Moral ambiguity! On both sides! Give me trouble-maker Loki, and then throw at him trouble-maker Sigyn who is a LOT more subtle about it, to the point no one (including him) has realized how similar they actually are when it comes to mischief and cunning. Give me a couple who don't care if the world burns so long as the other is safe. Give me the Loki who plays the trickster role because the gods are too comfortable and pliant and must not remain that way for the sake of the realms, and a Sigyn who has become disillusioned with the gods due to that very issue (their marriage-as-punishment/unwanted-reward may have happened because of this) and who inwardly does agree they did need a kick in the butt as provided by Loki (regardless of what her relationship with him actually is);
A Sigyn who is one of the hundred thousand daughters of Odin and who was often overlooked, and who is seen as dutiful and compliant, and upon their marriage Loki does too, and she does nothing to disabuse him of that notion because why should she when they've agreed to stay out of each other's way? But as their relationship progresses, or an inciting incident happens, they come to realize how similar they actually are, and how they actually complement each other;
Alternatively, a well-known troublesome Sigyn who is one of the hundred thousand daughters of Odin and therefore has managed to fly under his radar anyway. Cue horror when people who actually know her (could be one of her siblings, like Thor) discover Odin has arranged her marriage to Loki of all people, and it's now too late to back out without causing offense;
Pre-marriage teen/young adult troublemakers Sigyn and Loki both unknowingly pulling a prank or similar at the same time and hiding in the same very cramped spot while trying desperately not to be seen;
Pre-wedding/childhood shy Sigyn who has no clue how to deal with boisterous, larger-than-life Loki but who does admire him in spite of or because of that. Bonus points if Loki is extra loud and boisterous and peacocky because he really wants her to like him but has no idea how to deal with shy people and it only makes it worse. They're dumbasses, your honour;
Tenderness! Respect! I don't mind if you don't go fully romantic or romantic at all with this gift, but an horribly tender fondness should work itself into their relationship and interactions somehow, when they get past a possible initial negative-to-indifferent relationship. They grow to love each other! Romantically or otherwise! They're best friends and allies and and and--
If you ARE going romantic, however, a flustered Loki when it comes to Sigyn would be my absolute favourite thing! The more he grows to like her, the more Loki Silvertongue gets tongue-tied and pink-eared, that would be so much fun!! Also a Loki that cannot successfully lie to Sigyn unless it's blatantly obvious she's supposed to know he's lying (or if you're going more plotty, if it plays into her own biases).
Going from the scenario directly above, Thor or some other friendlier god poking fun at Loki because it's the only time they've ever known him to lose his words/ability to lie;
Loki with the BIGGEST crush on Sigyn (works for pre or post-wedding). He keeps finding reasons to drop by Odin's court to make moon eyes at the tiniest glimpse of her. Others are very amused at this. Sigyn is entirely clueless, and may barely know who he is beyond the trickster/troublemaker reputation. In this situation, however, rather than insta-love it might have been a moment of kindness on Sigyn's part that was unnoticed by her but meant the world to him, or even encounters with Loki in an animal form so she doesn't know it's him but they've definitely hung out before.

What I wouldn't like to see:

Infidelity, of any kind. It's one thing if they have a poly arrangement (say, with Angrboda) but actual cheating is a big huge nope. The Angrboda thing could incite jealousy (on either side lol) but there shouldn't be catfights or cattiness in general over it (they all went into it knowing what they were getting into regardless of their actual feelings on the matter), and ultimately all members should be/end up chill with each other, even if the arrangement itself ends. Even if you make Sigyn jealous of Angrboda (or Loki jealous of Angrboda and/or Sigyn), the issue is not with the other person and they shouldn't treat each other badly over it;
Please no Loki/Odin even if poly.
No love triangles or unrequited love, please. References to past relationships are fine;
Iiiiiiii would rather not see pregnancy/children, at all. I know their kids show up in the Eddas, but motherhood in general is hugely squicky to me. Grown-up Loki kids from a previous relationship with Angrboda is fine though, just no ankle-biters or round bellies or a huge desire for either;
Stuff on women being inferior to men and having no say in marriages, being sold into them, their role being just a a childbearer, etc. That was not the case with the ancient Norse and I'd rather not see it.
Please no more humiliation and pain for Loki, dear gods - give him a break! It's fine if he gets in a sticky situation (who is even Loki if he's not in some sort of trouble), but he should be able to get out of it unscathed and not much more worse-off for it;
Gender-fuckery when it comes to Loki is fine, but never as the butt of the joke. That being said, I'd rather male Loki be present for the large portion of the fic, and no actual discussion on the hows or the whys of the gender-fuckery;
Even if you don't write them romantically with each other, neither should end with someone else. If a poly arrangement of sorts is involved, it should only remain until the end if both Loki and Sigyn are also at least romantically involved, otherwise it should end;
No huge age gap between the two - it's fine if there is some, but let us not put Loki at the same age as Odin or close to it;
No sex without consent between those two, even if for marriage consuming purposes. At least one of them is a liar and a trickster, and they could get around that easily, or an agreement could be reached. Even if at the start they don't like each other, they have enough respect for at least that;
Past rape is pretty much canon for Loki but I would hate to see it detailed in the fic. It can be mentioned, in particular in reference to the point above, but not actually going into it or it being brought up against him;
Hard AUs - modern era stuff with no gods is fine, but stuff like merpeople AU, Hogwarts AU, etc is a pass from me.

RECESS
--

Full disclaimer, it's been like a decade and a half since I last watched Recess. Even so! I was so happy to see it was a fandom for Yuletide with both my faves listed! I love how close they are in canon, and their dynamic with Spinelli as the right-hand kid to TJ's leader, and neither of them taking each other's shit is fantastic.

What I would like to see/possible prompts:

I do like some romantic tension between those two, but it's more than fine if you want to write friendship!
In addition to the above, the friendship and companionship and trust part of their dynamic should always be above any romance (if you're going for romance). This can be part of the conflict/issues with the characters before being resolved (i.e.: not wanting to lose your best friend if a possible romance turns sour, or wondering if even a hint of feelings is going to make their friendship awkward instead of comfortable like they're used to, etc)
Older TJ and Spinelli - it's fine if you'd rather write them in canon ages, but as older teens or college students or even young adults would be ideal. Why? Because then you can play with them having drifted apart because of circumstances out of their control OwO
Longing! Missing each other! Even when the other is right there! Like I said, this works either romantically or platonically, but you know that childhood best friend (and possible crush and/or person that understood you the best on the things that really mattered) that you haven't spoken to in years and haven't heard of for the longest time, and then you finally find each other again but you've spent so long apart you're not sure if you even know each other anymore? Y E A H. *makes grabby hands*
HUGE nostalgia vibes. They haven't come home in a long time (away for college/work/whatever) and every time they do more of their old favourite shops are closed, or Old Rusty was finally taken down, or the old school clock has long since stopped working, and their friends have all moved away, and kids don't know about Señor Fusion anymore, and there's this perception that everything changed but they feel the same. The two of them just sitting together late at night at an old childhood hang out they should definitely not be at and reminiscing.
Spinelli keeping her leather jacket and big-ass boots, and still kicking ass. The kind of handy person that always has a swiss knife and electrical tape in her pocket. I cannot overemphasize how important her big-ass boots are to me. Big-ass boots, my beloved. Big-ass boots, TJ's beloved. Bonus points if he's horribly fond of the super scruffy steel-toed pair she stomps around in the most. I may be projecting my love for big-ass boots.
Setups: they both came back home for a friend/family wedding. Or they're both on college break from different colleges. Or one of them moved away at some point but came back to visit family or their friends and the other is anxiously pacing around waiting for them to get there so they can see them for the first time in ages. Or some remnant of their childhood is being closed down/destroyed and the old kids are banding up together to stop it. Or they haven't seen each other in years but never lost touch and purposefully agreed to visit home at the same time just so they could hang out with each other again. Or they've been friends all the way through highschool and it's the summer before they're off to college, and it's the first time they'll be separated for such a long time and they don't want to watch each other go/want to hang out together one last time. Or they're grown-up and established and haven't seen each other in years, Spinelli having grown to be a secret agent like her father and her job this time around involving TJ somehow. Or--
Honestly, huge bonus points if you work in hints of Spinelli having taken up spy/secret agent work in some way or being headed in that direction, regardless of the fic or ages (unless you're writing them very young). If you're working with a fully adult and settled gang, TJ I can see in politics, or as a teacher working his way to principal (ironically enough). To build up on that last prompt from the last bullet point, it could be that he's a target because of information he holds, or being targeted and she needs to subtly keep him safe, or his opposition to some politic is of nation-wide interest, or he keeps accidentally stumbling into her while she's meant to be working on some Super Secret Mission or another and they flirt like flustered clueless dumbasses while Spinelli kicks a body or two further under the table before he notices: regardless of the scenario, they end up irrevocably tangled again;
TJ remains mischievous but sweet, and they're both huge wisecrackers. I keep saying this for all my fandoms but. Banter! They're best friends, your honour!!! What are even best friends without a little snark and light-hearted ribbing!
Extra kudos for TJ's hat having some significance to the story or showing up on a cameo: him finding it again after it was lost in the back of the closet for years, or passing it on to someone else, or Spinelli stealing it to tease him mid-conversation if he kept wearing it through the years. As nostalgic and fantastic as Spinelli's boots;
Bonus points for old jokes/gags/slang from the show to be referenced!

What I wouldn't like to see:

Having had past relationships within the old gang when it comes to TJ and Spinelli. Between the others it's fine;
Either of them having had a relationship with Randall at some point lmao, other people it's okay;
Pregnancy, marriages, divorce, kids;
Poverty or homelessness. Them being broke college students or having a minimum wage job is fine, but abject poverty is just depressing, and that episode where Spinelli dreams of her future as homeless and poor is just plain trauma-inducing. Them having lost a job or job-searching and coming to live with their parents meanwhile is fine;
No love triangles or unrequited love, please. References to past relationships are fine;
An already established relationship;
Outright declarations of romantic love (I love a more subtle way to go about it!)
Smut or most AUs (these characters work best within their established world... though I suppose I could make an exception for something like space outlaws or a western since it fits their vibes, but not much else).

Thank you so much for staying with me this far! I hope you have a fantastic time this Yuletide, and that you end up loving your own requested fic as well!

Dear Yuletide Writer (2022)

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